Weekly Updates

Palladium Books® Weekly Update – Nov. 16, 2018

By Kevin Siembieda

One game system – every genre – countless worlds – endless adventure

It has been a crazy yet productive week despite computer issues and other goings-on. Lost a day of writing and I was hot as hell ... still am, thank goodness! The Rifts® Bestiary is freakin’ epic and moving forward nicely. I’m really in the zone and kicking out some great new monsters and filling out the existing ones. Having a blast with it. Chuck Walton has been rocking with the art too. You can catch a preview of a few of the “beasts” in the Bestiary in The Rifter® #82 (at the printer) and in the FREE Sneak Preview of The Rifter® #82 available on DriveThruRPG.com right now. I love The Rifter® #82 for a lot of reasons and think you will too.

Christmas is coming up fast, so keep those Christmas Surprise Package orders coming in. Actually, these Grab Bags are great for any type of gift, not just the holidays. I have been loading them up and filling them full of holiday joy. FYI: One of the good things about ordering early is that I can give them more love and attention, like doing more dragon head sketches in books and as art requests, taking more time to make them awesome. The two weeks before Christmas, we are slammed with orders and I just cannot give them all the close and personal attention I can now due to the sheer volume and the tight Christmas deadline. Gotta work fast those two weeks before the holiday.

Of course, the week was a bit of a bummer for many of us with the announcement that comic book legend, Stan Lee, passed away at age 95. I actually had the privilege of meeting Stan, in passing, a few times over the years. The man lived a long and positive creative life. And his legacy continues to live on and will inspire us for decades to come. That’s all any of us storytellers and world builders can ask for. I talk more about Stan Lee and his impact on me in my Closing Thoughts, below.

AVAILABLE NOW – Just for the Holidays – Back in stock for the first time in decades!

Just for the holidays, Palladium is doing a limited short-run of three out-of-print titles that have been out of print for years. Two of them have been out of print for decades! We are printing enough that they should be available now thru December, and probably into January – available only while supplies last – so order ‘em while you can. All are available in Palladium’s online store and will be considered as requests in Christmas Surprise Packages while supplies last. We expect to print enough to get us through the holiday season. Enjoy. Ho, ho, ho.

Can you believe it? It’s that time again for the Palladium Christmas Surprise Package offer. Palladium Books® has been doing Christmas Surprise Packages, or “Grab Bags,” for 20 years! And what a great tradition it has become.

It enables you to get several RPG titles ($90-$100 worth) for ONLY $46 (plus shipping and handling) as gifts for others or for yourself. It is our way of saying thank you to our many fans for being so kind and patient, and for your years of support. You are appreciated more than you may realize.

Christmas Surprise Packages are not just for Christmas. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or the Winter Solstice, or you’re looking for that special gift for a birthday, anniversary, graduation, or any special occasion that falls between now and February, a Surprise Package may be the ideal way to go. You get a ton of stuff on the cheap, you can get a bunch of autographs (if you want ‘em), and you look like you spent a fortune.

This is also a great way to try that game setting you’ve wondered about (Splicers®, Dead Reign®, Chaos Earth®, Palladium Fantasy®, Nightbane®, Mechanoid Invasion®, Rifts®, After the Bomb®, etc.), or to get something for your favorite Game Master. Or perhaps, to get your player group to consider a new game or setting.

Your “Wish List” is vital – The Palladium Surprise Packages are designed to simulate the joy and surprise of the Christmas Season of Giving. To do this, you submit a list of 12-15 Palladium products (or more) FOR EACH Surprise Package you order. This list of 12-15 items for EACH Grab Bag is critical, because you will not know which items we will select to send you. That makes it just like a Christmas gift because it’s a surprise. Plus, Santa Kevin, who personally hand-picks every item for every Grab Bag, may toss in something extra like a limited edition print, or color maps, or T-shirt, or issue of The Rifter®, or something else he thinks you’ll enjoy.

Autographed books. For those of you who want them (which are most people), available members of the Palladium staff, and any freelancers we can lasso at the time, are happy to autograph each and every book in your Surprise Package. This is the only way many fans, especially those in other countries, can EVER get signed books.

Send us your brief comments. There is a special form and format to fill out for Christmas Surprise Packages, including a place where you can offer your brief comments, suggestions, greetings and salutations.

It only costs $46 plus shipping to get $90-$100+ worth of Palladium products! First-timers are always nervous until they see the great value in their first Surprise Package. A typical Grab Bag has $90-$100 worth of product, sometimes more! Yes, sometimes more. Many people order 2-3. Some order 4-6, and some maniacs order even more! It makes sense, because it is a great way to fill holes in your own collection, treat yourself, get autographs, try new games and settings, and get your gaming pals gifts. PLEASE spread the word about this great offer.

To those of you outside the USA, the X-Mas Surprise Package is a way to get books and circumvent the damn high cost of shipping from the United States. Since you are getting $90-$100 worth of product and only paying $46 plus a small handling charge, shipping via Priority Mail International (required for packages weighing more than four pounds) to most locations in Europe, Canada and many other countries is around $50-$60 US dollars. HOWEVER, because the cost of the product is so low, that’s the equivalent of paying retail for the products and only $0-$30 for shipping. A very good deal. Plus you get autographs if you want them! X-Mas Surprise Packages are the way to go for those of you outside the USA. Please take advantage of it to get all those products you’ve wished you could get except the shipping was too prohibitive. We feel your pain. Game on!

IMPORTANT NOTE: The X-Mas Surprise Package is a Grab Bag. As such, while we always try to send you items from your Wish List, you may NOT get everything you ask for and you are likely to get one or more items NOT on your list, like The Rifter®, or other item(s) we think you should enjoy. PLEASE give us a long Wish List and fill out other questions (favorite Palladium games, would like to try X, and so on) because it helps us to make your Surprise Package special. If you need or want specific items, do NOT use the Surprise Package; place a regular order at full retail to guarantee you get the books you want. Offer ends December 24, 2018.

UPDATE: The Rifter® #82 – ships November 26 (maybe sooner)

The Rifter® #82 is at the printer. I approved the proof last week and it is in the queue for printing. As soon as we have an exact date, we will update you. We’re guessing around November 26, but it might be a bit sooner. We’ll let you know. You can see a FREE Sneak Preview of it on DriveThruRPG right now.

The Rifter® #82 is epic. Most of it is “official” source material and fun as can be: the reprinted Wujcik gaming advice, the Pyromancer O.C.C., the 50+ Pyromancy spells, the HU2 and Nightbane material, the preview monsters from Rifts® Bestiary, it’s all top-notch and fodder for adventure. Numerous people who have seen the proofreader’s copy have said the Erick Wujcik Remembrance is wonderful. Some said part of it brought tears to their eyes, while other parts made them chuckle and smile. All of it is a celebration of life and imagination. So I highly recommend The Rifter® #82 to everyone. The preview is up and available on DriveThruRPG.

The Rifter® #82 contains official source material for the Rifts® Bestiary™ Volume One (a sneak preview of just a few old and new monsters and animals), official source material for Rifts® Chaos Earth® (Pyromancer, 50+ Pyromancer spells, the Zone Twister, notable characters, and adventure ideas), official source material for Nightbane® (age modifiers and tables for selecting skills based on a Nightbane’s age, and more), an expanded revisit of the Physical Training character for Heroes Unlimited™, gaming advice from Erick Wujcik, a historically significant, fun and touching Remembrance of Erick Wujcik, 10 years after his death, some cool photos too, plus news and more.

UPDATE! Garden of the Gods™ (Fantasy)

I took a peek at the material that writer Matthew Clements submitted and it looks sweeeet. Exactly what I was hoping for. I can hardly wait to finish this book. Thinking of releasing a Raw Preview edition in time for Christmas. Garden of the Gods™ will be an early 2019 winter release.

An ancient ruin partially buried and covered in centuries of vegetation has been unearthed to reveal the Garden of the Gods. A place of meditation and wonder. Others say it is a place of magic and mystery. And some say it is also a place for miracles and divine inspiration. Many an adventurer finds his path or a great quest after visiting the Garden of the Gods. But there is also said to be a place of darkness on the Island Kingdom of Lopan. A place that may be linked to the Old Ones and serves as a Portal to the Land of the Damned!

BACK IN STOCK – Rifts® Game Master Guide™ – Available now

I always forget how jam-packed with valuable reference stats and comprehensive info the Rifts® Game Master Guide™ really is, with every Rifts® robot, power armor, body armor, vehicle, weapon, gadget, skill, experience table, and map that has appeared in Rifts® World Books 1-23 and Sourcebooks 1-4, plus a bionics index, an O.C.C. and R.C.C. index, rules clarifications, combat examples, advice on how to run a game and more.

UPDATE: Rifts® Bestiary, Volume One – Ships December

I’m sorry this book is taking longer than we had hoped, but we want to make Rifts® Bestiary, Volume One truly inspiring with cool monstrous pets, riding animals and alien familiars for players to use and monsters and dangers that inspire Game Masters to build better adventures. We have been working like crazy on this book, and it is coming along great, but it is taking time to get everything just the way we know you want it.

Wayne and Alex are busy editing, Chuck is drawing the beasts, Nick Bradshaw is doing art for a few last minute new monsters, and I have been writing and updating as fast as I can. The new monsters are awesome and some of the updates will make familiar and forgotten creatures feel new again. I’m behind where I wanted to be on this book, but it and Volume Two are going to be something special.

We are all excited by how much new material has been added to the Rifts® Bestiary, Volume One (and Two). Every single creature has extra information and updates, but many are much more expanded and detailed than I had originally imagined I would make them. It has been fun to revisit and expand upon these monsters and animals. These comprehensive rewrites only serve to make two better and more useful books for gamers. And the new beasts? I’m loving them and so will the fans. We know the customer will enjoy and get a lot of use out of these tomes.

The two upcoming Rifts® Bestiary books are great resources for players and G.M.s alike, with creatures that can be used as familiars, pets, riding animals, guard animals, and in some cases, even unlikely allies. Others are slobbering monsters or malicious predators who include humans and D-Bees among their prey. All giving you plenty of spice to add to your characters and adventures. And each comes with a map that shows at a glance exactly where to find these beasts. The Rifts® Bestiary, Volume One ships early December. Volume Two end of December.

Monsters and animals of Rifts North America organized in two big, easy to use sourcebooks.

UPDATE: In the Face of Death™ for Dead Reign®

I spoke to Nick Bradshaw about the art and some ideas and expect to plunge into finishing In the Face of Death™ as soon as the Bestiary books are done. Cannot wait.

UPDATE: Rifts® Antarctica

Artist John Zeleznik is painting away while author Matthew Clements is making changes and improvements to the manuscript to ensure that Rifts® Antarctica is a truly compelling and exotic land you’ll want to explore.

UPDATE: Chaos Earth® Psychic Scream™

I approved the Psychic Scream final cover art, the artist Anthony Moravian has transferred it to masonite and should be painting away. Another book I’m dying to get into your hands as soon as possible.

UPDATE: The Rifter® #83 and #84

As previously mentioned, we are already thinking about and reviewing material for these two issues. The Rifter® #83 should have a Heroes Unlimited™ theme cover by Anthony Moravian, and The Rifter® #84 will have a Rifts® cover by John Zeleznik.

New: The Nightbane® Dark Designs™ sourcebook contains 60 new Common Talents, 38 new Elite Talents, 18 new Morphus Tables, all other Morphus Tables collected into this one book, the Ancient Nightbane and more. The Rifter® #82 FREE Sneak Preview gives you a look at the Pyromancers and Pyromancy magic, some Rifts® Bestiary monsters, HU heroes, bad guys, Nightbane®, and Erick Wujcik remembered.

Recent PDF additions include Systems Failure™, a 160 page RPG that deals with alien invasion and a post-apocalypse setting that is fun and dynamic. Civilization is on the verge of collapse when the so-called “bugs” invade and turn humans into zombie-like slaves. Monsters, heroes and fun. A complete RPG and setting. Rifts® World Book 34: Northern Gun™ Two: 256 pages of technology and fun. 30+ power armors, 30+ body armors, 15 combat vehicles, 45 vehicles (hovercycles, etc.), 10 robot haulers, the Robodome and more. Bizantium and the Northern Islands™: the northernmost part of the Known World, the Cold Born, Necromancy ships made from dead sea serpents, 15 creatures, Random Sea Monster Generator, and more. Rifts® Northern Gun™ One. This fan favorite might be thought of as the big book of giant robots – an in-depth look at Northern Gun, 70+ weapons, 27 robots, NG O.C.C.s, key people and places, and much more. Mysteries of Magic™ Book One: The Heart of Magic™ with Wizards, their Apprentices, nearly 60 new magic spells and remember, magic and monsters in the Fantasy RPG are easily adapted to Rifts®, Chaos Earth®, HU2 and other settings. Wolfen Empire™ Fantasy sourcebook, the Great Northern Wilderness and Killer Winters, 12 Wolfen Tribes, Wolfen military and society, 15+ creatures, 5 full adventures, 101 adventure ideas, random encounter tables, notable people, places, plus FREE Sneak Previews of The Rifter® #80 & The Rifter® #81, and more on DriveThruRPG.com.

Palladium Books® Weekly Update – Nov. 9, 2018

By Kevin Siembieda

One game system – every genre – countless worlds – endless adventure

The Rifter® #82 is at the printer and I have already approved the printer’s digital proof on Wednesday. This is a great issue with a lot of useful, “official” source material — all of it fun and inspiring for Rifts®, Rifts® Chaos Earth®, Nightbane® and Heroes Unlimited™, plus G.M. advice and more. We’ll try to get a preview posted on DriveThruRPG this weekend.

Systems Failure™ RPG (a complete, standalone RPG about an alien invasion), Shadows of Light™ (a Nightbane® sourcebook), and Boxed Nightmares™ (for Beyond the Supernatural™, 1st Edition rules, but easily adapted to BTS™, 2nd Edition) are all at the printer and should be coming your way sometime around November 20, 2018. It has been a decade or more since these titles have been available in print. This limited run is being made available specifically on a first come, first served basis. Fear not, we believe we are printing enough to make it through the Holidays. Oh, and speaking of the Systems Failure™ RPG, it is new on DriveThruRPG this week as a PDF.

We are working on a number of projects, but I have been primarily focused on finishing the Rifts® Bestiary Volume One. That has been slowed down a bit by a killer cold, but I’m powering through it. We may have a few other little, fun surprises coming up in the weeks ahead. Looking great. In fact, there is a small preview of updated and new monsters from the Bestiary in The Rifter® #82. As soon as Volume One goes to the printer, I will finish In the Face of Death for Dead Reign® then dive right back into Rifts® Bestiary™ Volume Two. Which will be followed by the fast release of many other books throughout the new year.

We are glad so many people took advantage of the Palladium Halloween Horror sale that ended on Monday. That was a fun sale that folks seemed to love.

The Palladium Christmas Surprise Packages are in full swing and picking up steam as the holidays rapidly approach. I mean, Thanksgiving is what, 2 weeks away? And Christmas is only 6 weeks away. Yikes! You are crazy if you have never tried one. Do it. I doubt you’ll be disappointed. The Palladium crew and I aim to please. One first-timer already placed an order for his second Grab Bag because he loved the first one so much. Keep ‘em coming. And for many of you, this is the only way to get autographs. For gamers outside the USA, it is a way to mitigate expensive shipping. More news, details and updates follow, below.

Palladium Christmas Surprise Package Sale – available NOW!

Can you believe it? It’s that time again for the Palladium Christmas Surprise Package offer. Palladium Books® has been doing Christmas Surprise Packages, or “Grab Bags,” for 20 years! And what a great tradition it has become.

It enables you to get several RPG titles ($90-$100 worth) for ONLY $46 (plus shipping and handling) as gifts for others or for yourself. It is our way of saying thank you to our many fans for being so kind and patient, and for your years of support. You are appreciated more than you may realize.

Christmas Surprise Packages are not just for Christmas. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or the Winter Solstice, or you’re looking for that special gift for a birthday, anniversary, graduation, or any special occasion that falls between now and February, a Surprise Package may be the ideal way to go. You get a ton of stuff on the cheap, you can get a bunch of autographs (if you want ‘em), and you look like you spent a fortune.

This is also a great way to try that game setting you’ve wondered about (Splicers®, Dead Reign®, Chaos Earth®, Palladium Fantasy®, Nightbane®, Mechanoid Invasion®, Rifts®, After the Bomb®, etc.), or to get something for your favorite Game Master. Or perhaps, to get your player group to consider a new game or setting.

Your “Wish List” is vital – The Palladium Surprise Packages are designed to simulate the joy and surprise of the Christmas Season of Giving. To do this, you submit a list of 12-15 Palladium products (or more) FOR EACH Surprise Package you order. This list of 12-15 items for EACH Grab Bag is critical, because you will not know which items we will select to send you. That makes it just like a Christmas gift because it’s a surprise. Plus, Santa Kevin, who personally hand-picks every item for every Grab Bag, may toss in something extra like a limited edition print, or color maps, or T-shirt, or issue of The Rifter®, or something else he thinks you’ll enjoy.

Autographed books. For those of you who want them (which are most people), available members of the Palladium staff, and any freelancers we can lasso at the time, are happy to autograph each and every book in your Surprise Package. This is the only way many fans, especially those in other countries, can EVER get signed books.

Send us your brief comments. There is a special form and format to fill out for Christmas Surprise Packages, including a place where you can offer your brief comments, suggestions, greetings and salutations.

It only costs $46 plus shipping to get $90-$100+ worth of Palladium products! First-timers are always nervous until they see the great value in their first Surprise Package. A typical Grab Bag has $90-$100 worth of product, sometimes more! Yes, sometimes more. Many people order 2-3. Some order 4-6, and some maniacs order even more! It makes sense, because it is a great way to fill holes in your own collection, treat yourself, get autographs, try new games and settings, and get your gaming pals gifts. PLEASE spread the word about this great offer.

To those of you outside the USA, the X-Mas Surprise Package is a way to get books and circumvent the damn high cost of shipping from the United States. Since you are getting $90-$100 worth of product and only paying $46 plus a small handling charge, shipping via Priority Mail International (required for packages weighing more than four pounds) to most locations in Europe, Canada and many other countries is around $50-$60 US dollars. HOWEVER, because the cost of the product is so low, that’s the equivalent of paying retail for the products and only $0-$30 for shipping. A very good deal. Plus you get autographs if you want them! X-Mas Surprise Packages are the way to go for those of you outside the USA. Please take advantage of it to get all those products you’ve wished you could get except the shipping was too prohibitive. We feel your pain. Game on!

IMPORTANT NOTE: The X-Mas Surprise Package is a Grab Bag. As such, while we always try to send you items from your Wish List, you may NOT get everything you ask for and you are likely to get one or more items NOT on your list, like The Rifter®, or other item(s) we think you should enjoy. PLEASE give us a long Wish List and fill out other questions (favorite Palladium games, would like to try X, and so on) because it helps us to make your Surprise Package special. If you need or want specific items, do NOT use the Surprise Package; place a regular order at full retail to guarantee you get the books you want. Offer ends December 24, 2018.

COMING: Just for the Holidays – Back in stock for the first time in decades!

Just for the holidays, Palladium is doing a limited short-run of three out-of-print titles that have been out of print for years. Two of them have been out of print for decades! We are printing enough that they should be available from November 20 thru December, and probably January – available only while supplies last – when they are gone, they are gone, so order ‘em while you can. All are available in Palladium’s online store and will be considered as requests in Christmas Surprise Packages while supplies last. We expect to print enough to get us through the holiday season. Taking pre-orders now. Ho, ho, ho.

Taking pre-orders now. See the complete descriptions of these books elsewhere in this update or in the online store.

Questwise: Explores the Rifts® world and more

Jodie at Questwise continues to post product reviews and videos about Rifts® and other Palladium new releases and other fun Palladium gaming material on YouTube and elsewhere. Two new videos have been posted just this week! One a new chapter in his Rifts® Explorer's Guide series which travels and presents locations within the Rifts® Megaverse®. Part 2, the newest, focuses on Northern Gun and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. You can find it here: https://youtu.be/0lU9byK5G4g

Questwise is becoming an increasingly fun and useful ongoing resource for players of Palladium’s games. The feedback we’re hearing is that fans are really enjoying Questwise. Check it out for yourself here: https://youtu.be/7tuOsAPpeEo

Other Fun Podcasts and Sites

The Guides to the Megaverse® podcast consists of a Palladium group with a collective total of over 100 years of gaming! The crew’s Actual Play format consists of long term campaigns in Heroes Unlimited™, Robotech®, Palladium Fantasy®, and Beyond the Supernatural™, with occasional games in other settings. There are more than 90 episodes available for download. Check them out here: https://guidesmegaverse.podbean.com/

Through Gamer Goggles – Matt Lemke’s podcasts and YouTube videos cover the gaming industry. In fact if you haven’t seen them yet, check out his many Gen Con interviews.

HippoTV on Twitch.tv. The good folks at HippoTV (https://www.twitch.tv/HippoTV/) host a wide variety of games most days of the week. For fans of Palladium Books® they feature a Heroes Unlimited™ and an After the Bomb® space game. The gamers playing these games come from all over the world, are very enthusiastic, and represent a wide variety of experience with Palladium's games.

If you are doing a Palladium fan-based website, podcasts, YouTube programing, etc., please let us know so we can take a look at what you are doing and so we can give you a shout out. We do not have the staff and resources to do everything we want to do, so we appreciate the fan sites that feature Palladium Books’ games and settings and promote the RPG hobby. Awesome. We are happy to support you when we can.

Savage Worlds Adventure Edition Kickstarter – 6 days left

Pinnacle Entertainment Kickstarter – the publishers of Savage Worlds – are in the last week of their Kickstarter for the new, updated Savage Worlds core rules, sourcebooks and related cool stuff. They are approaching $400,000 with 6 days to go.

We wanted to let you know about this Kickstarter because Pinnacle is one of Palladium Books’ licensees (they produce Rifts® for Savage Worlds and are working on three new Rifts® sourcebooks right now), they are good people, and we know a lot of people enjoy their games. We didn’t want anyone who may be interested in this project to miss out. This Savage Worlds Kickstarter ENDS November 14, 2018, so check it out before it is too late.

UPDATE: The Rifter® #82 – ships November 26 (maybe sooner)

The Rifter® #82 is at the printer. I approved the proof on Wednesday, so it is in the queue for printing. As soon as we have an exact date, we will update you. We’re guessing around November 26, but it might be a bit sooner. We’ll let you know.

I am fighting a terrible head cold – all of us are – the entire office has it, so maybe it and working insane hours has made me a bit punchy, but I think this is a truly great issue. I love everything in it. The source material, the reprinted Wujcik gaming advice, the 50+ Pyromancy spells, the HU2 and Nightbane material, the preview monsters from Rifts® Bestiary, it is all top-notch and fodder for adventure. And most of it is official. Numerous people who have seen the proofreader’s copy have said the Erick Wujcik Remembrance is wonderful. Some of it brought tears to their eyes, while other parts made them chuckle and smile. All of it is a celebration of life and imagination. So I highly recommend The Rifter® #82 to everyone. We will try to get a preview posted on DriveThruRPG today or over the weekend.

The Rifter® #82 contains official source material for the Rifts® Bestiary™ Volume One (a sneak preview of just a few old and new monsters and animals), official source material for Rifts® Chaos Earth® (Pyromancer, 50+ Pyromancer spells, the Zone Twister, notable characters, and adventure ideas), official source material for Nightbane® (age modifiers and tables for selecting skills based on a Nightbane’s age, and more), an expanded revisit of the Physical Training character for Heroes Unlimited™, gaming advice from Erick Wujcik, a historically significant, fun and touching Remembrance of Erick Wujcik, 10 years after his death, some cool photos too, plus news and more.

UPDATE! Garden of the Gods™ (Fantasy)

On the back burner but very much on my mind. I just received Matthew Clements’ final contributions to the book, but have not had a chance to review them (focused on Rifts® Bestiary). I can hardly wait to finish this book. Thinking of releasing a Raw Preview edition in time for Christmas. An early 2019 winter release.

An ancient ruin partially buried and covered in centuries of vegetation has been unearthed to reveal the Garden of the Gods. A place of meditation and wonder. Others say it is a place of magic and mystery. And some say it is also a place for miracles and divine inspiration. Many an adventurer finds his path or a great quest after visiting the Garden of the Gods. But there is also said to be a place of darkness on the Island Kingdom of Lopan. A place that may be linked to the Old Ones and serves as a Portal to the Land of the Damned!

BACK IN STOCK – Rifts® Game Master Guide™ – Available now

I always forget how jam-packed with valuable reference stats and comprehensive info the Rifts® Game Master Guide™ really is, with every Rifts® robot, power armor, body armor, vehicle, weapon, gadget, skill, experience table, and map that has appeared in Rifts® World Books 1-23 and Sourcebooks 1-4, plus a bionics index, an O.C.C. and R.C.C. index, rules clarifications, combat examples, advice on how to run a game and more.

UPDATE: Rifts® Bestiary, Volume One – Ships December

I’m sorry this book is taking longer than we had hoped, but we want to make Rifts® Bestiary, Volume One truly inspiring with cool monstrous pets, riding animals and alien familiars for players to use and monsters and dangers that inspire Game Masters to build better adventures. We have been working like crazy on this book, and it is coming along great, but it is taking time to get everything just the way we know you want it.

Wayne and Alex are busy editing, Chuck is drawing the beasts, Nick Bradshaw is doing art for a few last minute new monsters, and I have been writing and updating as fast as I can. The new monsters are awesome and some of the updates will make familiar and forgotten creatures feel new again. I’m behind where I wanted to be on this book, but it and Volume Two are going to be something special.

We are all excited by how much new material has been added to the Rifts® Bestiary, Volume One (and Two). Every single creature has extra information and updates, but many are much more expanded and detailed than I had originally imagined I would make them. It has been fun to revisit and expand upon these monsters and animals. These comprehensive rewrites only serve to make two better and more useful books for gamers. And the new beasts? I’m loving them and so will the fans. We know the customer will enjoy and get a lot of use out of these tomes.

The two upcoming Rifts® Bestiary books are great resources for players and G.M.s alike, with creatures that can be used as familiars, pets, riding animals, guard animals, and in some cases, even unlikely allies. Others are slobbering monsters or malicious predators who include humans and D-Bees among their prey. All giving you plenty of spice to add to your characters and adventures. And each comes with a map that shows at a glance exactly where to find these beasts. The Rifts® Bestiary, Volume One ships early December. Volume Two end of December.

Monsters and animals of Rifts North America organized in two big, easy to use sourcebooks.

UPDATE: In the Face of Death™ for Dead Reign®

I spoke to Nick Bradshaw about the art and some ideas and expect to plunge into finishing In the Face of Death™ as soon as the Bestiary books are done. Cannot wait.

UPDATE: Rifts® Antarctica

Artist John Zeleznik is painting away while author Matthew Clements is making changes and improvements to the manuscript to ensure that Rifts® Antarctica is a truly compelling and exotic land you’ll want to explore.

UPDATE: Chaos Earth® Psychic Scream™

I approved the Psychic Scream final cover art, the artist Anthony Moravian has transferred it to masonite and should be painting away. Another book I’m dying to get into your hands as soon as possible.

UPDATE: The Rifter® #83 and #84

As previously mentioned, we are already thinking about and reviewing material for these two issues. The Rifter® #83 should have a Heroes Unlimited™ theme cover by Anthony Moravian, and The Rifter® #84 will have a Rifts® cover by John Zeleznik.

New on DriveThruRPG.com – Systems Failure™ RPG, a complete game and setting

New: Systems Failure™ RPG: 160 pages of riotous fun. Play this alien invasion, post-apocalypse setting serious or with humor. Civilization is on the verge of collapse when the so-called “bugs” invade. Bug-like things that feed on energy and turn humans into zombie-like slaves to serve them. Our story begins in the USA where survivors are not ready to give up to these monsters. America (and then the world) will be free! A complete RPG and game setting. Have fun.

Recent PDF additions include Rifts® World Book 34: Northern Gun™ Two: 256 pages of technology and fun. 30+ power armors, 30+ body armors, 15 combat vehicles, 45 vehicles (hovercycles, etc.), 10 robot haulers, the Robodome and more. Bizantium and the Northern Islands™: the northernmost part of the Known World, the Cold Born, Necromancy ships made from dead sea serpents, 15 creatures, Random Sea Monster Generator, and more. Rifts® Northern Gun™ One. This fan favorite might be thought of as the big book of giant robots – an in-depth look at Northern Gun, 70+ weapons, 27 robots, NG O.C.C.s, key people and places, and much more. Mysteries of Magic™ Book One: The Heart of Magic™ with Wizards, their Apprentices, nearly 60 new magic spells and remember, magic and monsters in the Fantasy RPG are easily adapted to Rifts®, Chaos Earth®, HU2 and other settings. Wolfen Empire™ Fantasy sourcebook, the Great Northern Wilderness and Killer Winters, 12 Wolfen Tribes, Wolfen military and society, 15+ creatures, 5 full adventures, 101 adventure ideas, random encounter tables, notable people, places, plus FREE Sneak Previews of The Rifter® #80 & The Rifter® #81, and more on DriveThruRPG.com.